All 50 U.S. States, Ranked By How Miserable Its Residents Are

If you live in West Virginia, you probably have the Suicide Hotline as one of your emergency contacts. That’s what I learned from the Gallup-Healthways State Health Index, which ranks all 50 U.S. states by how miserable its residents are, emotionally and physically. Or in fancy press release words:

For the sixth consecutive year, global well-being improvement leader Healthways and world-leading management consulting firm Gallup have released their analysis of the state of well-being across the United States. The analysis is based on data from the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index®, a definitive measure and empiric database of real-time changes in well-being throughout the world.

More than 178,000 interviews nationwide fueled the 2013 analysis, which examined Americans’ perceptions on topics such as physical and emotional health, healthy behaviors, work environment, social and community factors, financial security, and access to necessities such as food, shelter, and healthcare to create a composite well-being rank for each state. (Via)

How odd that the Dakotas would be 1 and 2. I knew a pretty lovely girl who moved to the south one a few years back; she probably boosted its well-being quotient slightly. I mention that because it’s pretty much the only thing I know about either of those states. Besides their capitals, of course.